It is research that is guaranteed to delight men - and infuriate the
women in their lives. A controversial new study has claimed that men really are
more intelligent than women.
The study - carried out by a man - concluded that men's IQs are almost four
points higher than women's.
British-born researcher John Philippe Rushton, who previously created a
furore by suggesting intelligence is influenced by race, says the finding could
explain why so few women make it to the top in the workplace.
He claims the 'glass ceiling' phenomenon is probably due to inferior
intelligence, rather than discrimination or lack of opportunity.
The University of Western Ontario psychologist reached his conclusion after
scrutinising the results of university aptitude tests taken by 100,000 students
aged 17 and 18 of both sexes.
A focus on a factors such as the ability to quickly grasp a complex concept,
verbal reasoning skills and creativity - some of they key ingredients of
intelligence - revealed the male teenagers had IQs that were an average of 3.63
points higher. The average person has an IQ of around 100.
The findings, which held true for all classes and levels of parental
education, overturn a 100 year consensus that men and women average the same in
general mental ability. They also conflict with evidence that girls do better in
school exams than boys.
But Prof Rushton, who was born in Bournemouth and obtained his doctorate in
social psychology from the London School of Economics, argues that the faster
maturing of girls leads to them outshining boys in the classroom.
And since almost all previous data showing an absence of difference between
the sexes was gathered on schoolchildren, the gender difference could easily
have been missed.
'It looks like up until late adolescence, the females have the advantage over
males because they mature faster, which masks the underlying difference, he
said.
Although experts have accepted that men and women differ mentally, with males
averaging higher on tests of 'spatial ability' and females higher on verbal
tests, it was assumed the differences averaged out, leaving no difference in
overall intelligence.
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